


Happy Birthday

by madmalina



Category: X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies), X-Men (Movieverse)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern: Still Have Powers, Calm Down Erik, Canon Disabled Character, Charles Being Concerned, Charles in a Wheelchair, Erik Has Feelings, Erik-centric, Established Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Multi, Smitten Erik, Surprises
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-21
Updated: 2017-12-21
Packaged: 2019-02-11 18:06:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12940791
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/madmalina/pseuds/madmalina
Summary: Erik gets rather worried, when he arrives home after work one night and everyone seems to have disappeared.





	Happy Birthday

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TempusNoKitsune](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TempusNoKitsune/gifts).



> Some (somewhat angsty) fluff for you, dear TempusNoKitsune!  
> I hope you like it <3
> 
> Thank you to [FuryRed](https://archiveofourown.org/users/FuryRed/pseuds/FuryRed/works) for betaing this! <3

When Erik returns home after work, the house is empty, or at least it seems to be at first.

It’s been  a long day, and Erik’s fucking tired. He wants nothing more than to quickly scoff some dinner and then cuddle up with Charles in bed and talk until they both fall asleep.

Erik’s a little confused when he enters the living room and there’s nobody there, and even more so when the same thing happens in the kitchen and dining room. It’s almost dinner time. They should be somewhere inside, and he’s definitely seen Charles’ car in the driveway, as well as his coat in the cloakroom, and those were David’s and Raven’s sneakers scattered across the floor.

So they’ve got to be somewhere.

“Charles?” Erik asks loudly up the stairwell. “Raven? Hank? David?”

No answer.

For a moment Erik wonders whether they might be playing a trick of some kind on him. He wouldn’t put it past Raven or David to hide behind a closet and jump out to scare him, but Charles and Hank...Erik can’t really imagine either of them being in on something like that.

Maybe they’ve just gone outside for a bit —even though that seems equally unlikely considering it’s January and really quite snowy outside. And they wouldn’t leave their coats and shoes inside anyway.

_ Where are they? _

Almost automatically Erik closes his eyes and stretches out his hands, allowing his powers to spread across the house, stroking tenderly over every piece of metal in the house, feeling for a familiar—

Erik’s eyes pop open, and he frowns. They’re all there, all together, all in the study, for some odd reason. At least he’s definitely sensed Charles’ wheelchair there, and his watch, as well as David and Hank’s watches and Raven’s bracelet.

Why on earth didn’t they reply when he called them though? It’s completely silent in the house and Erik’s voice must have carried all the way to the study. It’s not that far from the stairs after all.

There’s an ominous feeling settling in the pit of his stomach, as it always does when something out of the ordinary happens. Things being different, people not being where they should be has never boded well in his life. All terrible incidents in his past, his father’s death, his mother being taken to hospital, and the day that she, too, died, were all preceded by something not being as it should be. 

But there’s no reason to fear that anything bad might have happened now, is there? No sign that all the others aren’t perfectly all right. There’s really no reason to freak out.

_ No reason, Erik. Calm down. _

Erik takes a deep breath and walks up the stairs, then turns left and walks the few steps down the corridor towards the study, where the presence of Charles’ wheelchair becomes more and more evident, though strangely enough there is still no sound at all.

“Charles?”

Nothing.

_ Why on earth is it so quiet? _

Even though Erik tries very hard to remain calm, he can’t help the hairs on the back of his neck prickling uncomfortably, goosebumps breaking out all over his body. 

If something happened to one of the others, to  _ Charles— _ but it can’t. Charles  _ must _ be okay.

Internally preparing himself for the very worst, Erik tears open the door and—

_ “Surprise!” _

Erik almost jumps back several feet, hitting his head on the door in the process. Lights appearing in front of his eyes, his head hurting, his heart beating a million times faster than usual, Erik tries to take in all the colors and light surrounding him, as well as all the happy— _ happy, _ Erik, it’s okay!—faces beaming up at him.

“Wh—what?” he just manages to stutter as he blinks into the light.

Balloons? And a large cake on the desk? What—?

“Happy Birthday, Erik!” Raven squeals, throwing her arms around him. Erik weakly pats her shoulder, his hands still trembling slightly.

_ Birthday? _ What? Is it really—?

But before he can even start to try and remember the date, Raven’s let go of him and David’s slung his arms around Erik’s waist, almost knocking the wind out of him.

“Happy Birthday! I made you something!” 

David lets go again and thrusts a badly wrapped, colorful present into Erik’s hand.

“Um...thanks, David,” Erik says, still unable to properly process what’s going on.

David beams up at him.

“Happy Birthday,” Hank says too, though much calmer than those two before him, taking Erik’s hand and shaking it.

Erik can only nod, still too high on adrenaline to properly take in the whole situation. He tries to turn to Charles, his anchor in tumultuous times, the only person to calm every storm in Erik’s mind that threatens to sweep him away, but before he can do so, David’s grabbed his arm again.

“Open it, open it!” he squeaks, jumping up and down excitedly, and already tearing at the wrapping paper in Erik’s hand.

“All right, okay,” Erik says, attempting to smile and obediently starting to unwrap the present. Two chestnut men tumble out of the paper into Erik’s hand.

“I made them,” David repeats proudly. “This is you.” He points at the larger one. “And this is Daddy,” he adds, pointing at the other one, which seems to have large rings made of wire instead of legs—evidently the wheels of a wheelchair.

“They’re beautiful, David,” Erik says, his voice shaking slightly. And he definitely means it. Even though he still can’t really grasp what’s going on, he’s never been given anything like this before, and he’s not sure if he might start crying any minute.

David doesn’t notice this however. He’s already bouncing off again happily, with shouts of “Cake!” and has sat down, munching on a large piece within seconds.

Erik takes a deep breath, and finally turns to the corner from where he can sense the familiar buzzing of Charles’ wheelchair. Charles is there, sitting near the fireplace, smiling like the others, but also looking a little worried.

There’s a soft nudge in Erik’s mind and a tender caress.  _ “Are you okay?” _

Erik nods, feeling  a little calmer at once, and walking over towards his boyfriend, where he sinks into an armchair and places the chestnut men on the empty chessboard, staring at them, still slightly unbelieving of what has just happened.

“Happy Birthday,” Charles says warmly, stretching out his hand and taking Erik’s, his thumb softly stroking across Erik’s fingers. “I take it this was a bit much?”

“Well…” Erik exhales a long breath.

Charles chuckles softly. “I told Raven a big party would be too much, so it’s only us, but I couldn’t convince her not to stage this whole surprise thing. I’m sorry it got you worried,” he adds quietly.

Erik squeezes Charles’ hand, allowing himself to sink back into his armchair. “It’s okay. Silly of me, really. I just—” he swallows, unable to say any more.

_ “I know,” _ Charles sends telepathically.  _ “But we’re not going anywhere, Erik. We’re not going to leave you.” _

Charles’ soft caress inside Erik’s mind is more relaxing than anything else ever could be. Erik closes his eyes and permits Charles to fill all the space in his mind that was occupied with fear and worry, with warmth, safeness and light instead, allowing Erik to breathe freely again.

When he opens his eyes again, and sees Raven, Hank and David sitting around eating cake and laughing, and Charles next to him, still holding his hand and smiling, Erik, too, smiles for the first time.

They’re here. They’re safe. They did this  _ for him. _ They care about him enough to have planned all this, which, only a year earlier, he wouldn’t have thought possible.

And he’d completely forgotten about his birthday. He hasn’t celebrated it in more than 15 years.

“How did you know it was my birthday?” Erik asks Charles, though he thinks he already knows the answer.

“I, erm…” Charles blushes slightly. Erik’s always loved how Charles’ cheeks turn pink so easily. “I plucked it out of your mind a while ago, actually. I hope you’re not mad,” he adds in a slightly worried tone.

Before Erik can answer, he gets a little distracted by the fact that Raven and David break into a loud and rather out-of-tune version of ‘Happy Birthday’, both beaming at him, David with chocolate all over his face. When they finish they all break into applause, and Erik can’t help chuckling at the pleased expression on his stepson’s face.

“I’m not mad,” he says quietly to Charles. “This is great, thank you.”

He can tell that Charles can sense everything he feels at that very moment, everything he’s left unspoken so far, and that, if he’s never ready to say it, it won’t matter because Charles  _ knows. _

Charles squeezes his hand again. “Fancy some of your cake? Hank made it,” he adds, grinning. “I wouldn’t dare force anything on you that Raven or I made on your birthday, so don’t worry.”

Erik laughs. “Yeah, why not?”

\---

Numerous hours and several pieces of cake later it’s finally quiet again, and Charles and Erik lie huddled against each other in Charles’ large bed. 

Charles has already fallen asleep and Erik doesn’t want to wake him, so he just buries his face carefully into Charles’ neck, breathing in his boyfriend’s scent, the one that’s been  _ home _ to him for several months, when he thought that nothing ever could be again.

_ “Thank you,” _ he sends softly, knowing that the thoughts will somehow trickle into Charles’ dreams, but won’t wake him.  _ “Thank you for everything, Charles.” _

His eyes wander across the room, to the small coffee table laden with presents. The few cookbooks that Raven and Hank gave him (he can’t wait to try out some of the recipes), the metal chess set from Charles, so Erik can move the pieces without touching them, and the two chestnut men, lying as close to each other as their mutant counterparts on the bed.

The sight makes Erik’s heart swell so much it makes it hard for him to breathe for a moment. He’d never have thought that he’d mean enough to anyone for this. He didn’t think there could ever be a person in his life again who’d waste any time thinking about what would be a good birthday present for him. He never thought he’d ever have a  _ family _ again, who are there for him, and who want him to be happy.

What a strange concept. One that’s completely slipped away from him since his parents’ deaths. One that he didn’t even know he needed, though now he can’t imagine his life without them again.

_ “I love you,” _ Erik sends without thinking. He’s never told Charles this, too restless to commit himself, too afraid to get emotionally invested in anything, let alone  _ anyone. _

Charles doesn’t move. He’s fast asleep and it would take a lot to wake him—Erik’s learned as much already—but Erik knows that some of the warmth and perhaps even the meaning of what Erik said will get through to him, wrapping him up warmly as he sleeps and keeping his dreams safe and happy—just as Charles has done for Erik, ever since he allowed himself to sleep in the same bed, the first time Erik slept without nightmares.

Erik tenderly brushes a strand of hair out of Charles’ face, then huddles against him even closer, closing his eyes.

_ “I love you, Charles,” _ Erik sends again, and he thinks he can feel a soft wave of warmth washing over him in return, enfolding him like a warm blanket and keeping him secure.


End file.
